ASIO ban on terrorism expert

ABDEL BARI ATWAN'S visa to enter Australia has been blocked by
the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.

The distinguished writer on terrorism was due to appear today at
the Brisbane Writers' Festival but remains in London where he has
been waiting for a month to hear if Australia will grant him a
visa.

The Herald understands ASIO received his application from
the Immigration Department some weeks ago. A final decision on
granting or refusing the visa will be made by the Immigration
Minister, Kevin Andrews, who issued a statement yesterday saying Mr
Atwan's application was "being assessed and is subject to normal
visa processing requirements".

The editor-in-chief of the London newspaper Al-Quds
Al-Arabi and a strong critic of the Iraq war, he told the
Herald no country had ever refused him entry. "This is the
first time in my life, if I am refused," he said.

Mr Atwan was travelling to Australia to promote his widely
acclaimed book The Secret History of al-Qaeda, now
translated into 15 languages. Earlier this year he made several
trips to the US for this purpose, giving lectures at Harvard,
Chicago and Georgetown universities.

"I am not coming with missiles," he told the Herald. "I
am not coming with tanks. I am not coming with guns. I am coming
with my pen and my brain to give a human side of the story.

"I am propagating for peace, promoting human rights and
democracy in our part of the world. So why are they treating me
like this?"

The festival's director, Michael Campbell, said yesterday: "I am
appalled and embarrassed in equal parts by this situation." He was
still hoping Mr Atwan would board a later plane to Australia but
felt the prospect was increasingly unlikely.

News of the visa hiatus caused concern among security
commentators yesterday. "If he weren't given a visa, I certainly
think that would be cause for pretty serious questioning of the
Government," said a former defence official, Alan Behm. "It would
certainly indicate that we were fear-driven."

David Wright-Neville, of Monash University, expressed despair at
news of the visa problem: "It's just consistent with the whole
atmosphere of what is going on," he said.

He regards Mr Atwan's book as "uncomfortable" but necessary
reading. "He's critical of Western foreign policy. He's not a
[Osama] bin Laden supporter; on the contrary: he talks about why
bin Laden appeals to people.

"He talks about how Western foreign policy might contribute to
bin Laden's ability to build a community of support. He's the sort
of person we should listen to what he has to say. It doesn't mean
we have to agree with what he says."

Richard Beswick, a director of Mr Atwan's British publisher,
Little, Brown, said: "In the week when Osama bin Laden has appeared
again on our televisions, Mr Atwan - who met bin Laden in the Tora
Bora caves - has vital advice for Western governments and their
allies in their approach to terrorism. That anybody should be
prevented [from] hearing that advice is a real cause for outrage
and a shocking instance of a government ignorantly patronising its
citizens."

with Craig Skehan

David Marr was due to speak with Mr Atwan at the Brisbane
festival today.